1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for performing image processing for retouching a predetermined structure, such as a face or the like, in an image. It also relates to a computer readable recording medium on which a program for causing a computer to perform the method is recorded.
2. Description of the Related Art
Apparatuses that pick up a photograph image and perform processing thereon in various ways, with the image displayed on a screen, and reflect results to the image displayed on the screen are known. The apparatus is realized by causing a computer, such as a personal computer or the like, to perform an image processing program.
Such image processing is called photo retouching, and images are processed in various ways through processing in collaboration with manual operations by a user as described, for example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-331180. The photo retouching includes: white balance, luminance and sharpness corrections, gradually corrected by moving a slide lever or the like displayed on a screen through mouse operation or the like; partial image cut-out, enlargement or reduction by specifying the portion through mouse operation or the like; merging of images; removal of unwanted objects, such as wrinkles or flecks on a face of a person in an image, an electric wire in a landscape image, or the like, which is achieved by painting a pointed portion in the image with a color selected through a predetermined manner using a mouse pointer as a brush or a pencil.
There may be a case that a user wants to perform image retouching first on a portion of a subject in an image using retouching software, then on the other portion according to the partial retouching. Manual performance of all of the retouching, however, requires a prolonged time and skills. For example, when making the face contour of a person in an image thinner, it is tiresome to make both the right and left contours thinner through manual retouching.